Day 1:
I was stunned at the sight of Haiti's condition when flying in closer to landing - and I actually hadn't seen anything yet, compared to what I would see later. I could have looked at a million pictures of Haiti beforehand, but I never truly grasped how devastating the living conditions were until I saw them in person.
Furthermore, to give me just a 'taste' of such poor conditions, my luggage decided to stay at the Miami airport. However, after discovering that it didn't show up in Port-au-Prince, I was happy to learn that it could be sent down in another incoming flight from Miami later that day. So, I went on to meet some of my team members!
I love all the people on my team - they are all so kind and I've already gotten to know some of them quite well for the short time I've been here. God is so good!

Day 2:
So my luggage was supposed to arrive last evening... But, it didn't because it somehow got sent north, in the opposite direction. And, the American Airlines help desk here is either closed today or not answering their phones.
But, not to worry, because I have a ton of supportive and generous people around me, offering their clothes and toiletries to lend to me before I could even think about asking. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful, loving team members! I've also seen how much I take for granted - and it's a lot. For example, showers are so good when you have a continual water supply; and a full night's sleep is so amazing when there isn't a Voodoo band shouting and drumming across the street (yes, very strange indeed), followed by a rooster's wake-up-call before the crack of dawn.
I wish I had at least taken my camera to church this morning - as we were warmly greeted with worship songs, sung in Creole by at least a hundred Haitian Christian believers. It was absolutely amazing! Their singing was full of joyous life and they were so gracious in welcoming us to their church - which was only half-built with cement and crumbling stone walls. It was an honor to experience such an event.
Later, the team went back to the guest house to recover from the heat and long morning (as well as a culture shock for me). Then, after some good conversation with some of the students, we went to work sorting donated medicine for tomorrow's clinic. We hope to serve at least 1,300 patients by the end of the week, given that we have more than twice the amount of doctors and health professionals/students present last year, who served a total of 900 patients.

Day 3:
Today was the first day of clinic! Today, we were in Canaan, a small town on the poorer side of Port-au-Prince. For most of the day, I worked with the triage nurses and escorted patients back to the appropriate care providers. This ended up being a difficult job, as I was not expecting that crowd control would be so difficult.
I have noticed that, when these people pursue something important to them, they may seem to be what Americans would likely consider "pushy". However, after seeing the harsh conditions in which these people live, it's no wonder that they often need to fight to get what they need to protect themselves and their family. The persistence at which these people sought to get into the clinic, despite the long lines and sweltering heat, amazed me.
In the last hour of the clinic, some other students and I observed a cyst removal from a boy's left temple. It probably wouldn't be the cleanest picture to share, so I didn't post it. But, as you can tell from the picture, we sure thought it was pretty neat!
Also, good news: I got my luggage! It arrived at the airport today. But, strangely, I wasn't nearly as excited as I had thought I would be when I finally got it. I wasn't much in a hurry to pick it up once I found out it had arrived. In this, I realized how much material possessions I don't actually need and how little I need to be content.

Day 4:
Today was the first day of clinic in Jerusalem! The living conditions in this community are very comparable to those seen in Canaan yesterday.
The day's clinic was great for the first day at the location! After helping set up, I was able to shadow Dr. Annette in pediatrics and Dr. Carolyn in internal medicine. While sitting with Dr. Carolyn, we met with a man who had clear signs of type II diabetes. We took his blood glucose reading and it was 515! Wow. Thankfully, unlike many other people in Jerusalem, he had the means to get to the doctor for insulin within a week (as we did not have any with us) and to regular appointments to maintain his health.
We saw 316 patients in today's clinic and witnessed a total of 62 professions of faith in all days combined so far, 54 of which were at the evening crusade that I was not able to attend due to group prayer time.

Day 5:
Today was the second day in Jerusalem! As an undergraduate pre-PA student, I have been mainly serving as a "runner" at the clinic - bringing patients back to the doctors, running errands, and restocking medicine. When I'm not doing any of that, I'm free to shadow any of the doctors.
Today, I shadowed Dr. Andy and Cat in internal medicine, as well as the dental team! My favorite part of today seeing the dental work because it was just so fascinating and I was not expecting to have such a strong interest in dentistry. I was surprised at the brittleness and great amount of infection in the typical patient's teeth. The infections seen were so great, they typically decayed out the entire inner portion of a tooth.... and I cannot help but be reminded of how fortunate I am to have the resources and means to give attention to the tiny spots of plaque and slightest stains on my teeth. These poor dental conditions made work of teeth-pulling brutal for the dental team. I have so much respect for their work after seeing the conditions they had to work with.
Then, a 12 year-old girl came in with a large cavity in one of her molars. She did not have a parent with her and it was clear that she was very overwhelmed with the situation and not being able to understand the English-speaking dentists around her. She became especially frightened when she saw the long needle that would be used for anesthesia. But, of course, God saw this and stepped in to take control. I had the joy of praying with her, along with a translator, and holding and comforting her as they gave her the anesthesia. She wanted me to stay sitting there with her until the very end. Although I am not a certified care-provider (yet!), God proved to me that He can still use me in valuable ways, all for His glory. This was definitely a God-sighting, a memory from this trip that I will not forget.
After the day's clinic, the team went to the nightly crusade to see our team leader, Pastor Rod, give his message to the local community. When we arrived, the church's band was playing with pastor ShaSha dancing around on stage and singing with the crowd below, who were also having a blast jumping around in worship to the Lord. It wasn't like anything I had ever seen before!
Then, it started to rain and, many of the people lifted their white plastic chairs in the air to keep dry - but many were still dancing and jumping around, even while holding the chairs over their heads! Although it was raining heavily before pastor Rod started speaking, the team was still able to hear him and the Haitian translator share the gospel outside while sitting in the bus.
It was a great day! I finished my night back at the guesthouse playing cards with some of the team. God has certainly blessed the team with such wonderful experiences and fellowship here.

Back at the house, the group of Voodooists amped up their singing and chanting next door. Pastor Rod informed the team that they get louder when they know that a mission team is staying at the guesthouse. The team found this a bit disturbing but was comforted in prayer, knowing that our God overcomes all darkness.
One of the team leaders pointed out that Christianity tends to be centered around a country's culture and the church tends to be corrupted by something everywhere. In Haiti, the church is revolved around voodooism. In the US, many would say that it's revolved around materialism or entertainment. Either way, the Christian faith can be easily corrupted by ignoring biblical truth. The big take-away I had from this was that missions are important, not only in countries like Haiti, but also back home in the U.S.

Day 6:
Today was the third and final clinic day in Jerusalem! It was a hot day but the team finished strong.
An older woman came in today with a large tumor protruding from her left cervical lymph node. She came in asking why she felt ill and how to get rid of this 'swelling'. I can only imagine how difficult it was for the doctor to tell her that it was cancer and then have to explain to her what cancer was - as she did not know. Given that we did not have the equipment nor appropriate providers to treat such severe conditions, the only thing we could do for people like this woman, is pray for them. But, at the same time, prayer is the most we can ever do because it is God who is at work here.

In the total of four days of clinic, we served 1,368 people, including 855 adults and 505 children. While doing so, a total of 3,055 medicines were provided to the people! Most of these people had already been followers of Chirst but, more amazingly, 115 of these people were saved by accepting Christ into their lives during our visit!

Day 7:
This was an AMAZING trip with unforgettable experiences and wonderful fellowship! I so appreciate all the help provided to me in preparation for this mission trip - both financially and prayerfully! I cannot thank you enough for your support. It was a joy seeing the impacts we were able to make in the hearts of many people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

"Ask and you shall receive, and your joy will be complete" - John 16:24

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